Cold and Icy Conditions will Affect Spray Adhesive Performance – Take Action Now. PremierBond

Cold and Icy Conditions will Affect Spray Adhesive Performance – Take Action Now!

What is the Problem?

Low temperatures will impact on the performance of all spray adhesives as the lower the temperature of the canister, the thicker the adhesive contents become. Once it is too cold, then the compressed gases which normally distribute the adhesive as a spray can no longer force the contents out evenly and a poor spray performance and uneven distribution results.

This effect is compounded by the fact that the compressed gases themselves also shrink with the lower temperature so there is less pressure available to force a thicker adhesive into a spray. The “tack off” times for adhesive can increase considerably when it is cold as well, and to prevent bubbling, or a poor quality bond, users should ensure that the solvents have had time to dissipate fully.

Attempting to work with pressurised adhesive in low temperatures can lead to poor distribution, uneven bonding and high adhesive usage – at best it can slow a job down.

How to Prevent this Problem?

The best answer is to ensure that the canisters are not allowed to get too cold in the first place!

The optimum conditions for aerosol spray adhesive storage are:

Remember – the temperature at eye-level (where wall thermometers usually are) may be a lot higher than ground level where your canisters may be!

What if the Adhesive gets too Cold?

If your adhesives have become too cold to use then they need to be returned to operating temperature in a controlled and safe manner. Never leave a canister unattended whilst being warmed and do not allow it to get too hot. The compressed gases inside a canister can be very dangerous if over-heated.

Smaller containers such as hand aerosols or smaller canisters can be immersed in hot water to speed up the warming process. This should not be boiling water and the container should be regularly shaken whilst being warmed to ensure that the heat is reaching all the contents and the compressed propellant evenly.

Specialist canister heat belts are also available to electrically heat individual containers and bring them back to operating temperature. Larger containers can be rolled to help the redistribution of cold adhesive inside them.

Further Advice?

For more information on extreme weather issues or any other adhesive performance problems please contact us by phone on 01189 945 3533 or e.mail.